THE headteacher of a primary school has spoken out against plans for another controlled parking zone in North Greenford, arguing it must work for the whole community.

Elizabeth Walton, head at Horsenden Primary School, in Horsenden Lane North, is against plans to extend the two current zones around Sudbury Hill and Sudbury Town Underground stations.

The existing CPZs were introduced in 2006 after complaints about commuters making use of the free parking in residential streets around Whitton Avenue East.

Mrs Walton said extending the restrictions would cause problems for her area, which has two schools, a church and an Islamic centre.

"You have to be really careful about why you're putting a CPZ in. It's about the functioning of the whole community," she said.

There is limited parking for staff on site already, so volunteers and professional guests often rely on street parking, while pregnant mothers and those with young children using the on-site children's centre will be left with nowhere to park if the new zone is introduced.

Mrs Walton added: "The majority of the houses in Horsenden Lane North and many of the surrounding roads do have drives.

"People in the community using the facilities works reasonably seamlessly at the moment. The main issue would be if parents are thoughtless and park across people's drives, but we always raise it in our newsletters."

Although a parking survey by council officers showed that most roads in the area were less than half full of cars, councillors have approved the consultation to go ahead next month.

Ward councillor Shital Manro, who lives in the area, said the existing zones were pushing the parking problem into peripheral streets, and he believed a CPZ in the whole area was needed.

He said: "We will be talking to our residents. What we don't want is one area to get it and then a few months later the other areas wanting one too."

He emphasised that the restrictions would be in place only for an hour in the morning and afternoon to stop commuters parking all day.

Julia Roberts, who lives in Whitton Avenue East in the existing Sudbury Town zone, says it has been a success.

"We used to have lots of cars from Kellogg's parked outside our houses. They used to park right over our drives. It's definitely eased the problem."